Rain, Rain, Go Away! - Once again, Chevy enthusiasts in the Virginia area came up big at Virginia Motorsports Park, despite the skies turning gray.

The old state saying is "Virginia is for Lovers." Well, we like to think of it more as "Virginia is for Chevy Lovers." For a long time we've been making our annual trek to Dinwiddie, Virginia, for the Super Chevy Show event held at Virginia Motorsports Park (How many times can we get Virginia into one paragraph?! VIRGINIA!) and every year we have a blast. This show always has a great variety of classic Bow Ties, and new ones too, that we enjoy looking at, talking with owners about, and photographing for possible use in the magazine.

This year's show was no disappointment, except for one thing … the weather. Mother Nature just didn't feel like cooperating on Saturday, the threat of rain looming all day until the bottom finally fell out after lunch time. But that didn't stop everyone from enjoying the event. If anything, the rain gave all the Bow Tie faithful a chance to talk with their neighbors, do a little bench racing, and enjoy the spirit of the show.

As a special addition this year, VMP hosted a special Tri-Five gathering, sponsored by Danchuk Manufacturing, the company that's helped keep thousands of '55-'57 Chevys on the road over the last 30 years, and put equal thousands back on the road. Danchuk even brought an Outback Steakhouse catered lunch for all those who showed up. Thanks again to VMP and Danchuk for hosting this special get together.

Along with that, we had the third round of our 2013 AMSOIL Best of the Best competition, and on Sunday the rain stayed away long enough for the dragstrip to host some great quarter- and eighth-mile action.

From here, we'll let the pictures finish our story …

7/30

One of the attractions at this year's Virginia show was the Danchuk sponsored Tri-Five gathering. Not counting racecars, three dozen '55-'57 Chevys were in the show field.

1

David Kissner's '70 Z28 was a unique survivor in the show field. The second owner had factory Forest Green paint sprayed over the original Citrus Green hue in the mid '70s. Apart from that, the car is all original. It was ordered in Boston with an M-22 trans, factory stripe delete, and AM/FM radio.

8/30

2

Danny Spence of Richmond had this show-quality, 427-powered '73 Corvette up on the wheelie bars during time trials on Saturday, much to the delight of an admiring crowd.

9/30

3

Despite the rain, the swap meet was hopping all weekend. One of the deals in the car corral was this super clean, factory air Corvair Monza.

10/30

4

It's tough to beat the looks of a '59-'60 Impala steering wheel mounted in a Tri-Five

11/30

5

Paul Lattarulo made the long haul from Newington, Connecticut, to run this '81 Monte Carlo in the DOT class. With a 383 pump gas engine and a Turbo 350, Paul has run as quick as an 11-flat in the quarter with this car, that's still street driven regularly.

12/30

6

There were a lot of gorgeous Tri-Fives in the show field, but Randy Lamb's '57 Bel Air hardtop never stopped catching our eye. He's owned the car since 1985, rescuing it from behind an old building and restoring it over the course of 10 years. The Tropical Turquoise/India Ivory sport coupe just oozes '50s style and coolness.

7

Wesley Cox from Pulaski, Virginia, has been a regular in Super Chevy DOT competition at Richmond and Bristol in this street driven '68 Chevelle SS.

16/30

8

Here's a blast from the past, a V-8 Monza!

9

Officer Edward Leaboughof the Henrico County Police Dept. was showing how racing is for the strip and not the street in this 1965 Chevy II SS. Power comes from a 565-cid big-block with a Powerglide and 12-bolt rear, helping the car to an 8.56 best at 157.56 mph.

19/30

10

Saturday wasn't the best day at VMP, with rain storms doing their best to dampen the spirits of the Bow Tie faithful at the show. But a little rain can't stop us, or the contingent of Chevelle owners present, from having some fun.

20/30

11

Rodney Pryor's Camaro Top Sportsman car was one of the 4.90 index racers at Richmond. His racer was built by Tom Tillman Race Cars and sports a 632 PAR engine. Pryor has run as quick as a 7.69 at 176 mph in the quarter with the car.

Stock car fans were excited to see the late Ray Hendrick's 1936 Chevy on display, which ran in NASCAR's modified series. Hendricks was voted as one of NASCAR's Top 50 Drivers in 1998, and inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame with over 500 victories in the sportsman ranks.

24/30

15

Chris Rini ran an impressive out-of-the-box 3.878 at 188.41 mph in the first round of Pro Mod qualifying, and made the semi-finals before eliminations were eventually rained out.

25/30

Here are the Petersburg, Virginia, winners from the AMSOIL Best of the Best competition, presented by Danchuk and Classic Muscle.

Editor's Choice Car Show Awards

Chester Witt—Altavista, VA—'58 Impala

Paul Jones—Kilmannock, VA—'70 Chevelle SS454

David Kissner—Chester, VA—'70 Z28

Randy Lamb—Front Royal, VA—'57 Bel Air Hardtop

John Carroll—Greenville, N.C.—'62 Corvette

Rick Harris—Prince George, VA—'65 El Camino

Arnold Warner—Culpepper, VA—'70 Camaro

Foster Venturini—Suffolk, VA—'68 Camaro

Ron Henaghan—Midlothian, VA—'63 Impala

Brad Corwin—Chesapeake, VA—'64 Corvette

Editor's Choice Drag Race Awards

Edward Leabough Sr.—Richmond, VA—'65 Nova SS

David Grubb—Chesterfield, VA—'64 Chevelle

Preston Smith—Hampton, VA—'63 Corvette

Tim Riddle—Chesapeake, VA—'65 Chevy II

Joseph Rogalski—Newington, CT—'66 Malibu

Jeff Brady—Yorktown, VA—'10 Camaro SS

Wesley Cox—Pulaski, VA—'68 Chevelle SS

Danny & Sissy Spence—Mechanicsburg, VA—'73 Corvette

Ralph Crawford—King William, VA—'70 Chevelle SS

Gage Maulding & Shirley Allen—Chesterfield, VA—'66 Chevy II

Drag Race Winners

CamaroGuys.com Gen 5 Challenge – Jeff Brady – Yorktown, PA.

DriveDuracell.com Bracket 1 – Eddie Smith – Richmond, VA.

DriveDuracell.com Bracket 2 – Melony Robinson – Hanover, PA.

The AMSOIL Best of the Best voting begins the Monday after each Super Chevy Show and lasts through the following Monday at midnight. Keep your browser aimed at bestofthebest.superchevy.com to vote for next batch of classic Bow Ties.